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6 Things to Look for in FamilySearch in 2017

Worldwide interest in online genealogy services and activities will continue to grow solidly in 2017. And FamilySearch plans to play a major role in creating millions of new, fun family discoveries and online connections. Here are 6 exciting developments to look forward to from FamilySearch in 2017, a global leader in free online family history services.

1. Personalized Dashboard

Now available in 2017, if you log in to your free FamilySearch account today, you will be greeted with your own, customized home page full of interesting, relevant activity feeds, notifications, and suggestions on your personal dashboard. The more you work on your personal FamilySearch family tree, the more new, applicable content the system will automatically send to you through your dashboard throughout the year. In other words, it continues to work for you even when you're not.

New features include:

Recommended Tasks. "Next-step" suggestions for specific ancestors in FamilySearch Family Tree that can lead to new discoveries.

Ancestor Hints. As millions of new historical records are added to FamilySearch weekly, the savvy search engine maps them against your Family Tree. High probability matches are presented for your consideration as "hints" on your dashboard. Keep checking back to see what new information it has been dug up on your ancestors. Add it to your ancestor’s source page.

Recent Ancestors. Forgot what you did the last time you visited your tree? Your new dashboard will automatically keep track of the ancestors you are researching each time and create a list that makes it easy to pick up where you left off a few minutes ago or during a previous visit.

To-do Lists. Make quick notes in this convenient new feature to help you remember what you want to do on your next visit to your Family Tree. Jot short reminder notes about records to search, people to contact, photos or documents to upload and add to an ancestor’s profile, or personal and family stories you want to capture for posterity in the Memories feature.

To-do Cards. See fun new photos, stories, and relevant documents about your ancestors that have been recently added by other family members and cousins to your collective family tree. It's a fun way to identify relatives who are currently working on your family lines and make new discoveries or connections with extended family members.

2. New and improved Mobile Apps

FamilySearch's two mobile apps—FamilySearch Family Tree and FamilySearch Memories—will see cool new updates. Users will be able to search Ancestry.com from the convenience of the FamilySearch mobile app. Imagine being able to search the two largest online sources of family history records from your mobile device! A new descendancy view feature will give users the ability to create notes for specific ancestors, easily see a log of any changes made by others, and download user-contributed memories (Memories app). Multiple windows in the Family Tree app will significantly increase the speed of research from mobile devices.

3. Improved Searching

The FamilySearch.org search engine is already best-in-class, but in 2017, users will notice even faster search results from newly published historic records worldwide, and quicker hints from those new records and user-contributed trees.

“

“We are really excited to launch the web-based version of our successful indexing software in 2017. It will be easy to use and will work on any digital device with a web browser (excluding cell phones), eliminating the need to download the indexing software. That means more volunteers worldwide will be able to contribute in making more of the world’s historical records searchable by name online, and more quickly.”

Craig Miller, Sr. Vice President of Product Development and Engineering, FamilySearch International

4. New Indexing Tools

“We are really excited to launch the web-based version of our successful indexing software in 2017," said Craig Miller, FamilySearch's Senior Vice President of Product Development and Engineering. "It will be easy to use and will work on any digital device with a web browser (excluding cell phones), eliminating the need to download the indexing software. That means more volunteers worldwide will be able to contribute in making more of the world’s historical records searchable by name online, and more quickly.”

Indexing is the nifty, web-based tool FamilySearch volunteers use to make hundreds of millions of historic records worldwide searchable by name for free online each year. These indexes are the secret ingredient to your ability to discover ancestral connections online quickly and easily. Additional innovations to the tool in 2017 will include more rapid completion of tasks, improved help, and even automated indexing for some record sets (obituaries) which means more records searchable at your fingertips, faster.

5. New Discovery Experiences

The Family History Library in Salt Lake City is a top tourist attraction for the state of Utah. In February, 2017, FamilySearch will open a wonderful, state-of-the-art Discovery Experience attraction on the Library's main floor. The new feature will enable guests to have fun, large-as-life personal discovery experiences with their family history using the latest technologies. Similar discovery experiences will be implemented in select locations worldwide in 2017.

6. More Free Historic Records

Over 330 FamilySearch digital camera teams worldwide will digitally preserve 125–150 million historical records in 2017 for free online access. Another 200 million images will be added from FamilySearch's microfilm conversion project that uses 25 specialized machines to convert its vast microfilm collection at its Granite Mountain Records Vault for online access. Over 30 percent of the 2.4 million rolls of microfilm have already been digitized and published online. The digital collections can be located in the FamilySearch catalog online and by perusing collection lists by location.

FamilySearch's online community of volunteers will be focused on creating searchable name indexes to two major collections in the United States (marriage records and immigration records that will include passenger lists, border crossings, and naturalization petitions), and core record collections from select high priority countries.

If you are not familiar with all the wonderful free benefits of FamilySearch, create your free account at FamilySearch.org, and start your fun journey of discovery.

About FamilySearch

FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources free online at FamilySearch.org or through over 4,957 family history centers in 129 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Comments 1 - 20 (43)

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Message:

Charles Bolin

11

April

2018

Thanks for the great site. I'm interested in exporting the text table accompanying photographed census docs in a specific county. Is there an export function or must I manually scrape the data. I wish to apply some machine learning and data modeling to predict probabilities of matches. Its a geeky thing to help me generate more leads. Thank you.

Audrey

21

March

2018

I LOVE indexing, but i can't find out how to check my weekly progress. I know how to check my monthly, quarterly, and yearly progress, but I can't find my weekly progress.

Angelyn España

08

February

2018

Hi Brother. I'm still confused about searching my ancestors. I'm also confused about the SEARCH (right side of FAMILY tree after I log in. There are six which are: Records, Family Tree, Genealogies, Catalogs, Books and Research Wiki. I don't know what's the difference among them all. May you help me to know their differences, similarities and usage with regards to searching my ancestors that suit to available information that I have. Help me please. Thank You :)

Bob

15

December

2017

I have enjoyed your site for years. As such, a great deal of what I have lists your microcilm library as the source. Any suggestions on how to update this information given your decision to go digital?

Paul Nauta

01

January

2018

Bob, Your question is unclear. Are you asking how to make a source citation of our digital image collections?

Darleen Blackburn

14

December

2017

my email is not acceptable for familysearch, it is acceptable everywhere else. I'm 80 years old and I feel I've done everything correctly.
please let me have access.
Darleen Blackburn

Paul Nauta

01

January

2018

Darleen,

We are sorry you are having login challenges. Please call FamilySearch Support for help working through it. 1-866-406-1830. Thank you.

Frederick Keeslar

27

October

2017

I am having a marvelous time digging in my family ancestry, Question: sometimes the ancestor has a photo of themselves attache which I understand, bus shoe have other symbols that look like coats of arms and other pictures of ships or buildings or what look like castles. Is there a guide as to what these mean? Thank you
Fred

Brenda Gracin

19

September

2017

Philippines records. I have been trying to search in the Philippines collections. Some of them are telling me to view a record I have to be a member of the church and use a sign in. I don't understand that. I've not come across that before. Why is this? This is disappointing. Right up there with removing Wills so Ancestry.com could have them.

Susan Thompson

14

September

2017

Is there a switch to turn OFF the emails and texts of possible family records? Can't they be shown when we log in only? It clogs email/texts and makes noise with each one. Thank you.

Roland Morrison.

13

August

2017

I used To Be Able To Bring Up Image Copies Of Marriage, Births And Death Certificates. Now, When I Click On The Camera Image It Always Comes Back "No Image Available" Why Did They Disappear>>

Thomas Spillane

19

July

2017

re: previous msg same day
Case: Request for an update re: Smolensk birth and death records. (03655706)

Thomas Spillane

19

July

2017

Dear Brother or Sister,

After teaching a lesson on indexing to the ward's high priest group this morning, I received a telephone call from one of the brethren who was present. He and his wife had lived in Moscow, Russia while serving for the Church:

From Nad Brown (age 80)-(paraphrased)

“When Sister (Markay) Brown and I were serving a humanitarian services mission as country directors in Russia in 1999-2000, we came across an old Orthodox church building in Smolensk that had been closed for worship services but was being used as a records domicile, containing millions of birth and death records. The stacks of records were in many places higher than a man could reach. The area involved was the equivalent of our current stake center chapel from the stand to the stage at the end of the cultural hall.

There was an older lady at the church, and they inquired about these records. They were told that towards the end of World War II, the Germans had all the records loaded into trains and sent to Germany. After the Russians won the war, they demanded all the records be returned, and the Germans sent them back.

Brother and Sister Brown then notified Church Headquarters and efforts to obtain permission to copy and preserve those records began in earnest. The Russians would only allow so many records to be copied per year. The final results of this effort are not known. "

Could you please provide an update on the efforts to obtain these records, or forward this request to the appropriate department, e. g. Humanitarian Services Department?

Howard Rock

05

April

2017

How do I find an ID for a Rock (complete File) Family File, I can only verify my family by
comparing existing file Ids.

Paul Nauta

05

April

2017

Howard, We are not sure what you're asking, but we'll give a shot at answering your question. I am assuming that Rock is the family surname and that by “Family File” they might be referring to a submitted Gedcom file in the Genealogies Database (Under the Search tab). More specifically an entry in the Pedigree Resource File dataset, since that is one where these family specific trees can be uploaded.

Doing a Search for the Surname Rock yields 24,440 results. If you click one of them, such as Edna Harriet Rock (4th one down) it will pull up her tree with her centered and her data filling the data panel on the left hand side. Scroll to the bottom of that data panel and you can see that this tree has a Submission ID of MM95-X5B Clicking that ID will do a search that will bring back all the deceased people in the specific tree.

If you were asking something completely different let me know.

Nancy Seblom

17

February

2017

I have gotten new information on my archives.com site---a few years back---but apparently they were allowed to have it for just a certain length of time. I found something in March of 2014 and at the top of the page it said to get the info recorded because it would be gone by the end of the month! The entry happened to be the sister of my great grandmother and I learned that her real name was Johannah Louise Prey. She never went by anything other than Louise and Louise Ritzenthaler is noted on her stone at the Walnut Hill Cemetery in Baraboo, WI., Sauk County, I believe. The husband you had noted was a dead giveaway for me. I would be extremely interested in knowing where your information came from because her father is noted as Ludwig Prey and he would be my great great grandfather. A possible surname was down for his wife of Law, but no first name. I have never gotten any further on this lineage---one of the big reasons being that so many of the Germans in the 1800s went by their second name.

I am old and cannot run around looking for a library that might be of help. It does seem to be a shame that I know the birth date and death of this woman and where she is buried, which was not on your entry. So someone out there who entered the other information on her would likely be very happy to get what I have. But there is just no way to contact sources---at least, on my Windows 7! I can tell you that I once found a marriage site on my great grandma in 1884 of Rietzig, Arnswalde County, Brandenburg State---all Poland now. She was noted as Mina Prei---with an i at the end. She was never known by anything other than Minnie, except on her immigration record where she was Anna Harmel. She was married to my great grandfather, Robert Harmel and they came to the US in September 1884 on the Salient out of Bremen. They are in the same cemetery with her sister.

I am sorry for the length, but wanted you to know that it is a shame that we cannot connect with people who put information out there. At least, not me, as I am not so great on a computer. I have found many obvious discrepancies over the years---have worked on several lines for relatives---but I don't attempt to correct anything. It is hard enough just trying to search now and then! If you can be of any help it would be more than appreciated. Thank you. Oh, I did note on a 1920 census of Louise Ritzenthaler that her father was from Pomerania and mother from Brandenburg State. I was once told by a deceased relative that their mother died about 1921 in Germany. Also, there was a brother in Germany who had a boy and a girl. No more is known.

Jeanne Miller

20

January

2017

What are your hours at the stake in Wausau,Wis. Are they still there?

Paul Nauta

22

January

2017

You can locate, verify, and contact local family histories using the online Find a Family History Center locator at this URL. https://familysearch.org/locations/centerlocator?cid=hp2-1047.

Linda Barnes

20

January

2017

My grandfather's family comes from France. There are so few records on line from the major cities like Lyon, Marseilles (sp?) and Clermont Ferrand. Any hope of getting records on line any time soon? Also, the records from Canada from parishes are plentiful, but all written in French. It would be so helpful if there was a way to provide a means of translating these records as I know that this available on line in other applications. Know that we all appreciate all that FamilySearch.org is doing to aid us in finding the necessary info in order to get the ordinance work done for our ancestors. Thanks so much.

Susan Schwinn

17

January

2017

I would like to recommend that volunteers microfilm the Rockland County NY Inventories. You have the wills and surrogate court records on your site, but the inventories have never been filmed by anyone. The Rockland county surrogate court owns them, and they are stored off-site at the Rockland county Archive buildng. Researchers must go to the courthouse and requisition the inventory. They must then return a 2nd time to look at them - they are the original inventories. Who can I contact at familysearch, to get these records filmed? Sue

Paul Nauta

17

January

2017

Your request has been forwarded to the Indexing projects management group for consideration. Thank you!

Mark Gum

15

January

2017

I have been working on the new web based indexing program for over a year. Will the Stake Indexing Directors receive a "pre-launch" notification and training? Just want to help those who struggle with the new tool.
Thanks for all your assistance.
Mark Gum
Columbine Colorado Stake Indexing Director

L. Young

15

January

2017

Why are some of the records now restricted and only viewable at Family Seach Centers??

Paul Nauta

17

January

2017

FamilySearch has literally tens of thousands of agreements with record custodians worldwide. The record custodian (archive) owns the records. FamilySearch's fundamental approach to historic records access is to provide the broadest access possible to all of its record holdings. In the vast majority of its contracts, broad access online is allowed and achieved.

In the few cases where the record custodian has requested restricted access, we are obliged to accommodate their wishes and limit access to their records to our nearly 5,000 family history centers worldwide. This may be an inconvenience compared to broad online access, but it is still far more cost and time effective for patrons in most cases than a trip to the repository where the originals are currently located.

Thanks for your understanding and support.

Daniel E. Niemiec

13

January

2017

I agree with those who want there to be no records that are ONLY available at family history centers. By the same token, please make a deal with Cook County Illinois to put the vital records back on family search. They were on line for a while and then removed. Even if we can't download or print, it would be so helpful to be able to read the details that are not indexed.

Daniel E. Niemiec

13

January

2017

Please please find a way to allow us to search records by a specific date, not just a range of years. This would be much more helpful when we have the right date but the record is poorly spelled or poorly indexed.

Robert Kehrer

18

January

2017

Daniel,
Only a small percentage of the published searchable records have event day, month and year. Almost all have the event year. To make the full date searchable indexing teams would need to go back and extract that data from he images on most of the collections and republish the collections. I don't think that is planned.

There is one workaround which is to export the search results into a spreadsheet. The dates will come out into a column and be sortable.
-Robert